A Cottage by the Sea - On My Mind

You can do this!

4/15/2021

I’m back after a wonderful week’s visit from my daughter and son-in-law. Tony replaced a section of our fence and did a bunch of clearing out in the yard. Emily and I got the kitchen ready for the painters, who arrive tomorrow. This entailed loading up the dining room. (Good thing I’ve taken a hiatus from jigsaw puzzles!) They took a full car load of stuff for their neighborhood yard sale, but I’ll still have a lot to put back,— I still hope to simplify.
Now to carve some solitude into my life. “You can do this,” I tell myself. “You have done this before.”

Post pandemi routine

4/1/2021

Here I am at Panera in Framingham, Massachusetts enjoying a croissant and cafe-latte, doing my best to channel a brioche and cappuccino at Café Ricchi, Piazza di Santo Spirito, 8 in Florence, Italy. (I reminisced about that yesterday on “A Solitary Traveler”). It feels good to get out and change my year-long pandemic routine (PR), which I don’t need to describe because yours probably isn’t that different. But this sure isn’t Florence; Panera doesn’t even offer a version of cappuccino.
   Back to this shift in schedule. I wasn’t planning on it, but it had to happen. Yesterday I went to Barnes & Noble; I haven’t bought a new book in years, and plan to stick to the library, but it felt good to browse among the pristine books and do a little to help the economy. On I went to check out the newly renovated Michaels (formally A.C. Moore). It didn’t have the yarn colors I wanted but the sparkling interior gave me hope that change is coming, or at least that change can happen. As with peace, change has to start with me.
   I am a morning person; love to get up early; it’s my productive time. Case in point. Clearing and organizing the Angel Room has been on my to-do list since January 1st. So much for New Year’s resolutions! So today, tapping into that early-morning energy, I got to it, and presto, in less than 45 minutes I could check it off the list. A first change in my PR! And now, here I am enjoying my second change, getting out of the house and writing in a cafe.
   I don’t have a long attention span. Left on my own I do best when I move from one thing (location, activity) to another. So I’m on the move again. But let me be clear. I’m not giving up the solitude. Alone, sipping a cappuccino in a cafe in Italy is my absolute go-to way of being.

One day at a time. Spring is here.

3/30/2021

Once again I’ve stopped watching the news. For the past four days I’ve glanced at the headlines and left it at that. No TV news, for that is “the killer”—killer in helping me stay peaceful and work for peace in the world. What’s that song? “Let there be peace on early and let it begin with me.” It just doesn’t begin with me when my my mind, body, spirit gets overloaded with news/politics.
I notice that every so often I write about this. After a time of allowing the TV to take over some of my silence, solitude, and simplicity, I let you know what I have been doing and that I am amending my ways. As I return to my bad habit, however, I never admit it. Hmm, that’s the way addicts act. We only report when we are healing, when we have consciously entered some kind of rehab, not when we’re indulging.
If I slip back into news watching, I’d like to promise that I will tell you. But there’s a good chance I’ll forget. Addicts are like that.
One day at a time. Spring is here.

We want somebody to be there.

3/24/2021

Florence April 2019

Most of all, we don’t want to be alone. We may long for some peace and quiet, assaulted as we are by the needs of other people all day. But we don’t want there to be no one for whom we matter. We want somebody to be there.
I need to speak out loud these wise, truthful words of Barbara Cawthorne Crafton, lest I give the impression that we who love silence, solitude, and simplicity want to live completely alone with it . We don’t! We are fully aware that we relish time by ourselves because we have (in no particular order) friends, family, physical resources, interests, and faith that make for a full life. Silence, solitude and simplicity don’t fill a void; rather they provide balance and support our life in community.

Sitting with the sadness

3/18/2021

The father of a student I taught in first grade years ago, died last weekend while hiking in New Hampshire. I don’t have many details, and maybe I don’t need any. Right now it is enough to sit in the silence, solitude, and simplicity that I have created for myself over the years. From this spot I can send peace to my now grown student, his family and his siblings. I can listen to what I might write to him.
My usual way is to move quickly to the future, but these past twelve or so years, since I began spending time at the cottage by the sea, have help me stay in the moment rather than rush away from unpleasant things. And so I sit with this sadness. For sure the family can’t rush away; so why should I? Instead, I sit with them.

Computer rules for silence, solitude, and simplicity

3/15/2021

Silence, solitude, and simplicity are difficult to experience with a computer sitting on my lap. Poof, an open screen can keep me busy all day. Memories of managing my kids TV time comes to mind.
I have a few rules, however, to assure my screen time doesn’t control me. For years the first two hours of my day have been sacred times for me—prayer, meditation, reading. The computer is off—no email, no news. I don’t know what has happened in the world until past 7 AM (I get up at 5:15). Throughout the day, when I am not using it, I close my computer and let it lie there in deep sleep. Usually I respond once a day to someone; I don’t converse back and forth.
For the most part I don’t bring my computer downstairs where I read and watch TV. Out of sight, out of mind, my mother used to say. One more thing. I continue to do my best to stay away text messaging.

A book or two on the table

3/11/2021

We received our second Moderna vaccine on Tuesday, slept eleven hours Wednesday night and are back to our usual form today. The computer hack has been taken care of. That’s two things completed. Parents, however, are still deciding whether to send their children back to school now that the hybrid possibility is off the table.
Life is like that. Some things get taken care of and we move on. Others remain sloshing around. Either we don’t know what to do or the situation outside our control remains in flux.
For many of us, in spite of unrest and uncertainly, slosh and flux, we have a book or two ready on the table .

Back to school?

3/9/2021

A Face Book friend has asked for opinions about kids returning to in person school. Hers have been home all year, while others have been hybrid Now that schools are officially opening up, what should she do? Here’s my posted response.

If I were your kid’s teacher I would want her/him physically to cross our classroom threshold and join our learning community. I would want that because I believe that having kids present in person is best for for their social, emotional, and intellectual well being, for the classroom community, and for the society as a whole. Growing up in a positive, loving learning environment with our peers helps us be positive, loving participants in the world.

You are not alone with your computer problems

3/6/2021

One would think that failed internet service would give us the silence, solitude and simplicity that we long for, but we all know that isn’t true. My husband’s computer was hacked…I won’t go into the details. Do NOT use your computer until computers are cleaned.
We are about ready to get it all sorted out, so when I post this, all will be well. Right now I working on a mantra by Julian of Norwich--all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well. In fact, I’ve been living with that one for a few days.
So where are the gratitudes? For all the people who have helped us, all so kind: Andrew at the Apple Store; Mike who made a house visit from Comcast; the Best Buy tech people. Kudos to all them and others.They helped us know that we are not alone.

Just keep walking!

3/4/2021

I’ve declared that my knee is better, at least well enough for me to get back into my daily walking routine. How easy it is, with snow on the walkways and pain in the knee, to give up a daily walk. But I’m back. I’ve been doing my PT exercises as warm ups before setting out for my walk—1/8 of a mile to Wadsworth Cemetery, wander about there, and then home.
My final PT session is coming up; my wonderful therapist will give me a set of maintenance exercises; my calendar will be free of that appointment. For those who care, I probably have a degenerative torn meniscus—and some arthritis. It’s an age thing, but I'm telling myself, "Just keep walking!"